80 The Farm Woodlot 



poplar and the North Carolina poplar. These two 

 trees are very extensively used in plantations, particularly 

 in the prairie and northern states. The wood is valuable 

 for fuel and gives good-sized timber in a short time. 

 For fence posts, the wood is very suitable and lasting when 

 properly treated with creosote or some other wood pre- 

 servative. Cottonwood lumber has many uses and is 

 becoming more prominent as other woods are becoming 

 more rare and consequently more expensive. The wood 

 now finds its way into finishing material for buildings and 

 finds a large use for packing boxes and wood pulp. 



There are a number of poplars that have been introduced 

 from Europe and most of these can easily be distinguished 

 from our native species. The Lombardy poplar is one 

 of these and is very commonly planted. It may readily 

 be recognized by its tall spire-like form, having all the 

 limbs vertically arranged, forming a spire. Another 

 common species is the white poplar, sometimes wrongly 

 called the "silver maple." This species forms a large 

 wide-spreading crown and has light colored bark; the 

 upper side of the leaf is green while the under is white 

 and cottony. 



The willows. Fig. 22 



There are so many species of the willows that it is a diffi- 

 cult matter to present any kind of classification that is 

 of value. The willows may be found in almost every 

 piece of wood land, particularly if there is considerable 

 moisture in the soil or if there is a swampy area. The 

 willows belong to the same family as the poplars and the 

 two genera have many characters in common. A willow 



